Smart Designs for Savvy Kids

In today’s kid-focused culture, more and more families take their kids’ needs into consideration when renovating kitchens and baths, but that doesn’t mean they leave sophistication and high-quality design behind.

At the 2017 Kitchen & Bath Industry Show, I discovered how top brands bring grown-up style and functionality into kid-friendly products. Take a look at my top picks below:

Bluetooth Built into Shower Time: Singing in the shower takes on a new meaning with another KBIS find. Kohler’s The Moxie Showerhead lets families insert a magnetic removable Bluetooth speaker into the showerhead to transform clean-up time. The Moxie presents families with a sound strategy for helping kids graduate from baths to showers, as well as for coaxing sometimes-reluctant kids into a nightly shower.

Toilet Training Made Easier: From setting up portable potties to incorporating devices onto the adult-sized toilet to make it kid-friendly, parents know that even at home, toilet training proves a challenge. But shouldn’t home be the one place where a toddler shouldn’t have to struggle? With Gerber’s PeeWee Rough-In Children’s Toilet, life just got a little easier. This new pint-sized toilet comes in at a size that’s just right for kids 6 and under and offers up a solution for large families who have a dedicated kids’ bathroom. No new plumbing is needed to install it, and it can be subbed out later for a standard-sized toilet when kids get older.

Reimagining the Family Mudroom: Any parent whose front or back door becomes a gathering place every afternoon for backpacks, shoes, and sports equipment often dreams of a dedicated mudroom solution. Yet sometimes cabinets and shelving aren’t particularly kid-friendly. At KBIS, manufacturers such as Covered Bridge Cabinetry have reinvented mudrooms to accommodate kids – everything from shelving and hook heights to width adjustments to accommodate the over-stuffed backpacks today’s kids carry around.

Curious about what’s trending overall in kitchens and baths?

Take a look at the Top Trends in kitchen design I expect will rise up in 2017.

Or check out my top picks for bathroom designs.

Featured image photo credit: schaffert/Thinkstock. Remaining photo credits: Stacy DeBroff

Stacy DeBroff

Stacy DeBroff, founder and CEO of Mom Central.com and social and digital consultancy, Influence Central, is a social media strategist, attorney, and best-selling parenting author. A sought-after expert for national media, she trend-spots regularly with national brands and speaks frequently to national and international audiences on a wide range of subjects, including influencer marketing, social media, entrepreneurship, and consumer trends. A passionate cook, gardener, reader, and tennis player, she adores this new chapter of post-college-age parenting.